She Should Have Dropped The Necklace
by Trim59
Summary: Chase loves Zoey. Dana loves Logan. If that's the case, why are they together? Well, they're actually just faking it in an attempt to get the two people they love out of their own romance. Jealousy runs rampant, emotions get blurred, and feelings get hur
1. Idea

I do not own Zoey 101

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

Idea

Dana crossed her arms, the fact that she was annoyed obvious all over her face.

"It's a stupid idea."

"Yeah," Chase spat, stopping to let a giant sigh fall out of his lips. Afterwards, he crossed his arms like Dana as he spoke to her with a softer, pleading tone. "Well do you have any better idea?"

Dana rolled her eyes as the scowl she had on her face disappeared.

"How do you even know it will work?"

"It won't take much to make them jealous Dana, trust me." Realizing he was close to convincing Dana to take part in his plan, Chase's face grew into a huge smile. "Look at how quickly we got jealous of them. We just have to make them realize that they shouldn't be with each other…they should be with us."

Dana dropped her hand to her hip, speaking in an aggravated tone that covered up the fear she had.

"We got jealous so quickly because we want to be with them Chase, they probably don't even feel the same way we do!"

Chase pushed his head back as far as his neck would allow in response to Dana screaming at him. Dropping her voice down to a normal level, Dana continued speaking.

"I…I didn't mean to y-"

Chase nodded.

"It's okay; I know what you are going through."

Dana let out a sigh as she took her hands off her hips and placed them back across her chest. She looked at Chase and gave him a weak smile with her voice holding optimism that it had lacked for a long time.

"I hope your plan works…even though it probably won't. But, it is definitely worth trying."

Chase let the huge smile return to his face as he closed the distance between Dana halfway across the room and himself, wrapping her in a giant hug. Dana laughed as Chase caught her off guard by lifting her off the ground a couple inches with his huge bear hug. After a few seconds passed, Chase let go of Dana and covered up a cough he faked with his hand, backing up a few feet from Dana.

A genuine smile fell across Dana's face as she looked at Chase and saw how happy he was. The smile fell of her face as a awkward silence fell between them.

"So, what do we tell them when they…how do we tell everybody we got together?"

Chase replied quickly, the corners of his mouth actually hurting his smile was so big.

"Don't worry, I'll think of it, I promise."

Dana nodded, looking over at the clock as a hint to Chase that it was getting late and Zoey and Lola would be back soon.

"Okay, tomorrow then…"

Chase nodded.

"Tomorrow,"

As excited as a small child, Chase started to walk towards the door past Dana and started to jog. Quickly, Chase gave Dana another hug and planted a small kiss on her cheek as he stopped then immediately continued jogging towards the door. Dana's eyes grew large as she turned around to face Chase, her voice coming out more shocked and surprised than angry.

"Hey…"

Chase gave Dana a cheesy smile.

"Bye, girlfriend,"

Dana rolled her eyes playfully at the way Chase emphasized his new title for her.

"Fake girlfriend, you mean."

Chase nodded, his bushy hair flopping up and down.

"Of course…"

"Your plan better work…"

Chase gave Dana one last smile, replying, "It will," as he covered the last few feet between the door and him quickly, once again jogging due to his excitement.

Dana laughed as Chase didn't stop jogging and swung the door open, hitting his head of the corner of the door fairly hard. Chase rubbed the area of his head which was sure to become a bruise through his mass of hair in the doorway as Dana made her way towards the door. Dana began to close the door, pushing Chase out as he continued to rub his head with a pensive look on his face.

"Bye, Chase."

Chase placed his head so that he could see Dana through the crack of the door that was a few feet wide and quickly closing.

"Hey, do you have any ice?"

Dana shook her head with a smile as she continued closing the door.

"Bye."

Chase smiled at Dana, tilting his neck as he continued rubbing his head, muttering, "Bye," before the door closed a few feet from his face.

Chase stared at the closed door for a few seconds, finally dropping his hand from his head. Fighting back the fear he had, Chase let out a deep breath.

"This will work…it has too."

Dana leaned her back against the door, crossing her arms over her chest as she let her mind drift off. After a little, Dana rubbed away a hint of moisture that was still left on her cheek from where Chase kissed her and made her way to her bed after turning off the light.

"This better work…"


	2. Plan in Motion

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

Plan in Motion

Dana shot her hand up to her dresser with a loud groan, sending her alarm clock, which wasn't supposed to go off for another half hour, dropping onto the floor with a loud thud that caused another aggravated grunt to slip out of her lips. Only opening one eye, Dana finally found her cell phone which was vibrating and playing Paramore's "Misery Business".

Flipping her phone open, Dana read a short text that said "Chase" at the top through her squinted eyes.

_Meet me at the fountain_

Dana rolled her eyes, Chase loved that damn fountain. She normally would have went back to sleep without a second thought, but the fact that their plan was supposed to start that morning had her slowly rolling out of bed to get dressed.

**SSHDTN**

Chase, a morning person, smiled at a tired Dana who made her way up to the fountain that Chase was sitting at.

"Hey, you actually showed up, I'm surprised." Trying to crack a joke, Chase let a small smirk cross his face. "Don't tell me I already got you wrapped around my finger."

Dana rolled her half open eyes, taking a seat beside Chase on the concrete bench that wrapped around the fountain. "Okay, Logan." Dana yawned, putting her hand over her mouth. "Don't read into it, I just figured you needed to tell me more about your plan. This is the only time you are going to wake me up at five thirty in the morning, ever."

Dana made sure Chase understood by giving him a stern look. Chase nodded.

"Okay, okay,"

Dana looked up into the morning sky, enjoying the serenity of a quiet PCA campus with few students around due to the fact it was only a little after six in the morning. Chase reached into a bag he had at his feet, getting out what he had for Dana. He paused for a moment, noticing the peaceful smile that was on her face as she stared off into the distance, not wanting to get Dana mad.

"Hey, Dana,"

Dana brushed a few loose curls from her eyes as she looked over at Chase, who held his hand out with a giant blueberry muffin. Dana smiled at Chase, taking the muffin from his hand and placing it on her lap as she began to unwrap it.

"Thanks."

Chase smiled bashfully as he grabbed his own muffin and began to eat it, muffling his words as he took a small bite of the muffin.

"No problem, the best thing the cafeteria has for breakfast, right?"

Dana covered her mouth as she chewed a bite of her muffin, nodding her head.

"It's your favorite too, right?"

Dana gave Chase a curious look as she finished chewing the muffin.

"Ummm, yeah…how did you know?"

Chase shrugged.

"When you actually eat breakfast, it's almost always a blueberry muffin, unless they are out."

Dana raised one of her eyebrows with a small smile on her face.

"You actually noticed that?"

Chase nodded. "Yeah, we have been friends for two years." Dana nodded and turned her attention back to the peaceful environment of a mostly empty campus around them, biting off another small piece of her blueberry muffin. After thinking to herself for a few seconds, Dana smirked before she looked back at Chase, suddenly getting the urge to place Chase under a little pressure.

"So, what does Zoey usually eat for breakfast?"

Chase raised one of his eyebrows back at Dana, stuttering for a moment as he started to get flustered.

"Ummm, well, she…she eats a balanced diet…so ummm it depends…"

Dana let out a small laugh, causing Chase to try to defend himself.

"What?"

Dana shook her head and gave him a fake stern look.

"You've been head over heels for Zoey for two years, and you don't even know what she eats for breakfast."

Chase frowned at Dana.

"...So what…not many people would notice that about someone they like."

Dana gave Chase a questioning look.

"I'll give you a break on that one; she is a lot more spontaneous than you and your blueberry muffin every morning like me. But, it doesn't change the fact that you know what I eat for breakfast and not her."

Again, Chase tried to defend himself with a flustered tone.

"Well, yeah, she is a lot more spontaneous than…Wait a minute!"

Dana brow furred at Chase's outburst. Chase continued with a smirk on his face.

"So, you know what I eat for breakfast?"

The stoic facial expression Dana wore faltered slightly as the tables turned and she was now trying to defend herself to Chase.

"Well, we have been friends for two years. Besides, like I said, you are kind of boring, not exactly spontaneous."

Chase frowned momentarily at Dana calling him boring, but didn't let his mind drift off the next question he had set her up for.

"What does Logan eat for breakfast?"

Dana stared at Chase dumbfounded as he gave her a smirk.

"Well, ummm, you know Logan; he always eats junk food and stuff."

Chase let out a laugh, breaking eye contact with Dana as he stared out into the PCA campus around them that was starting to fill up with more and more students quickly. Dana tried to regain his attention, her voice coming out slightly aggravated as she was out of her comfort zone. She wasn't used to anybody turning her words around on her perfectly, not even Logan did it with the efficiency that Chase had.

"What? What's the big deal?"

Chase continued to look forward, attempting to hide the giant grin he got from beating Dana at her own game, a game she was very good at nonetheless.

"So, you've liked Logan for two years, and you what I eat for breakfast and not him?"

Dana didn't reply, instead staring forward at a PCA campus that was starting to buzz with life as it was now about half past six in the morning as she tried to replay the events in her mind as to how Chase skillfully turned her attempt to make him uncomfortable on her.

Quietly, they both ate their muffins in peace, still gazing out into the campus and the morning activities of a plethora of students. Dana snapped her neck to look at Chase as she heard him start to choke on his muffin as he covered up his mouth with one of his hands. Before she had a chance to ask him if she was okay, Chase had already choked down the clump of muffin and was staring at her, looking excited and scared.

Dana's whole body tensed up with nervousness and excitement as Chase wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him until their hips were touching and they were facing each other. Even though there was no one else within hearing distance, Chase whispered, "Act natural."

Flustered, Dana replied, "What?" as her voice cracked and went a few octaves higher than normal as she looked off into the direction that Chase's eyes were staring at. Butterflies stirred in her stomach as she saw Lola and Michael walking towards them, along with Zoey and Logan, hand in hand, as the group chatted and made their way towards them.

"Oh, ummm, okay." Dana's voice was as tense as her body as she didn't know what to do. Flustered, she looked at Chase like a deer in headlights, almost squealing under her breath. "What do I do?!"

Chase's eyes darted around quickly, as he was trying to think of something quick and was clearly as confused as Dana was. Finally, Chase snapped his eyes back to look at Dana, determination now accompanying nervousness and confusion on his face.

"Okay, I got it." Dana nodded, letting out a small sigh as she looked over at their group of friends that was still not aware of their presence, but was approaching quickly. Snapping her head back to look at Chase, Dana replied.

"What is it?"

"Kiss me back." Dana's eyes grew large as she looked at Chase in disbelief, her voice once again coming out higher pitched than it normally did.

"What?"

Chase didn't reply with words as he traced his thumb around the outline of Dana's cheekbone, stopping once he reached Dana's neck as he gently cupped her neck with his one hand. Without thinking any further, Chase leaned in towards Dana, Dana improvising and meeting his lips halfway with hers. Quickly, Dana shot both of her hands up to Chase's neck, leaning in more as she copied Chase's actions.

Both of the teenagers looked out of the corner of their eyes at their groups of friends who would see them at any second, then turned their attention back to one another. Closing their eyes, Chase and Dana deepened the kiss slightly as their hearts began to pound as they thought about what Zoey and Logan would think when they saw them, among other things.

**A/N: Hey, just got an update for everyone who reads my fanfics that I thought you should know. Besides writing for a stress reliever, a way to exercise my hyperactive brain, and many other reasons, I am the author of my own fanfics because I enjoy writing and I am trying to get better at it. Therefore, I would like to hear more feedback on how my writing is and have decided not to update new chapters until i get a certain amount of reviews. No, I'm not one of the writers on here who holds the release date of their next chapter above their fans heads until they get like 10 or 20 reviews of their most recent chapter. All I am saying is that i will update, but i would like to here some input on how you guys like the story, constructive criticism, and things that you don't like about the story. I usually have one chapter sitting on the story I am currently working on at the time ready to update with. However, because i don't write the entire story and slowly upload it onto here, I can change the plot of the story and many other things if i see fit (if i got multiple people saying that one aspect of the story was really ruining it or something along those lines). Well, that's all. Like always, thank you for reading, and please review. Trim59**


	3. No Way

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

No Way

"I'm telling you, we would have won the game if you let me shoot more!"

Michael let his mouth hang open as he let out a huge sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, let me tell you, like you didn't already take half the shoots for our whole team. Maybe, if you weren't such a ball hog, we would be 7-4 instead of 4-7."

Logan contorted his face into a scowl, coming back at Michael with heated words as their group of four made their way through campus to get some breakfast.

"Well, maybe we would be 17-4 if you guys were better…and passed me the ball more!"

Michael immediately turned his face into a huge scowl that mirrored Logan's. "As if…besides, you idiot, we couldn't be 17-4 we've only played 11 games!" Logan tried to make his way to the opposite side of Zoey, where Michael was, as he spat back, "Oh yeah?!"

Before Logan got a chance to, Zoey tightened her grip on his hand and gave both boys a stern look. Michael and Logan both turned their eyes straight ahead, pouting their lips as Zoey played the role of their mother away from home, scolding both of them. "Come on, you guys are teammates, you would probably win more if you would just get along."

Michael let the angry expression fall off his face, nodding his head after a moment. Logan kept the slightly mad look on his face until Zoey squeezed his hand again. With a small scoff, Logan nodded his head to, letting a small frown form on his lip.

Jumping into the conversation she had been mostly silent for, not knowing much about basketball as it was, Lola tried to cheer both of them up with a big smile.

"Cheer up guys, I'll sure you win tomorrow night, you guys are awesome."

Michael and Logan both snapped their heads to look at Lola, with huge frowns on their face as Logan told Lola what they were both thinking.

"No way, we got St. Meredith tomorrow night, they've won the 6A state championship two of the last four years." Michael nodded, looking at Lola as he added on to Logan's statement. "They are great, three of their starting five are getting recruited by division one schools, two of them major division one schools."

"No way!"

Zoey's outburst caused Logan and Michael's attention to fall on her now, as they both nodded their heads, Logan trying to refresh her memory.

"Yeah baby, don't you remember? I told you about them when we got our schedule."

Zoey shook her head, still staring straight ahead.

"No not that. Logan, look."

Logan, Michael, and Lola all gave Zoey a confused look as they stared off in the direction Zoey was. All of their mouths hung open as they stared at Chase and Dana, nothing less than making out, right by the giant PCA fountain. Logan joined Zoey in shaking his head as they still held each other's hand.

"No way…"

**SSHDTN**

Chase broke their embrace first, opening his eyes to stare at Dana who still had her eyes shut. After opening her eyes a second later, Dana took her hands off of Chase's neck and wrapped them behind it, beginning to look towards where she knew Zoey, Logan, Michael, and Lola were. Before she could, Chase caught her attention.

"No, don't look…don't make it obvious."

Dana listened to Chase, snapping her head back to face Chase, their faces only a few inches apart as she looked at him with a face displaying an assortment of emotions. "They are staring at us right now, huh?"

Chase nodded. Dana shivered slightly as Chase leaned in close to her, his mouth almost touching her ear as he whispered to her. "Probably, but if we look over there right now they might suspect something, probably not, but still, can't take the chance." Dana gulped as she nodded, her voice holding a questioning tone.

"What are you doing?"

Dana tried to stay focused and listen to Chase's response as she felt his hot breath on her neck. "Adding some extra effects…look, you are going to grab my hand and we are going to start walking towards them, our attention completely focused on one another, okay?"

Chase accepted Dana nodding her head slightly as her form of reply.

"Then, we are going to look up, and we are going to act as surprised as they probably are, okay?"

Dana gulped again, and then finally nodded. Pensively, she reached down and intertwined her fingers with Chase's, planting a small kiss on his cheek as she began to stand up. Chase got up from his feet, maintaining eye contact with her and not looking at where he knew their group of friends was no matter how badly he wanted to.

Chase shot Dana a small smirk as they made their way towards their destination, both of their legs feeling wobbly as they were extremely nervous. "What was that for?" Dana shook her head and put on an innocent look, trying not to smirk like Chase was. "Adding some extra effect, that's all."

Before Chase got a chance to reply, Dana stopped dead in her tracks as she looked up, acting very surprised as she saw their group of friends staring back at her with their mouths agape with looks of disbelief plastered on their face. Chase looked at Dana quickly, and almost let his fake exterior crack as he was impressed with how shocked she actually looked, and then looked at Zoey, Logan, Michael, and Lola, acting as surprised as he could.

Chase couldn't find it in him to look at Zoey, so his eyes wondered to Logan. Chase didn't know what to think as he saw Logan, with a look of pure disgust on his face, looking at Dana, him, and their hands that were interlocked. Once again Chase fought to keep a straight face, finding some enjoyment in the look that was on Logan's face that only he saw. Chase thought it was the least he deserved, and only the beginning of what he was going to get, for causing him so much grief by being with the girl that he knew he adored.

Dana held her breath as she looked at Zoey, who had a smile covering up her hurt that was so obvious a blind man could tell she was appalled by seeing them together. Dana fought to maintain her composure, finding amusement as she was the only one to notice Zoey's slightly quivering bottom lip and eyes that were starting to become slightly glossy. Good, Dana thought to herself, she deserves to get her feelings hurt for being with Logan when she knows we should be together and putting Chase through all of this.

Neither one of the couples, real or fake, said a word as they stood facing each other. Badly wanting to break the silence, as Lola and him stood by and watched as they went unnoticed, Michael addressed the group.

"Hey, guys…ummm, what's up?"


	4. Disbelief

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

Disbelief

Chase and Dana had managed to side step an invitation, which was humorous to Chase because they were always with their friends but knew it was their friends way of asking them both to come, as a couple, to breakfast. Without hesitating, both Chase and Dana said they had a few things they had to do. The group had nodded in unison, Michael stifling at laugh as he wondered what the "few things" they had to do was, along with Zoey and Logan who both secretly rolled their eyes, both of them wondering the same thing.

Dana let out a relieved sigh for the first time since she had spotted the group walking up on Chase and her. Dana stared at an unaware Chase, who watched the group walk and slowly blend into the large amount of students who were now infesting PCA campus. Dana shook her head briefly, a small smirk and frown fighting within her, both of them wanting to show themselves on her face.

Dana didn't know how to react to Chase taking charge of the whole situation like he had, even though the plan was entirely his idea. It kind of made Dana see Chase, who's chest rose and fall in a sigh as he stared for one last second at a departing Zoey, in a different light. Dana had no idea that Chase could take charge of a situation like he had. On the other hand, a little voice in the back of Dana's head was downright displeased for at herself for actually letting Chase take the lead. It was her greatest defense mechanism; Dana never felt uneasy or vulnerable when she was in charge, it gave her an opportunity to set up walls around herself that no one could break through. Dana fought back her thoughts, neither the smile nor frown winning out as an unreadable expression was the only thing Chase saw when he finally looked at her. After all, Chase was a great guy, and always looked out for his friends; she was sure taking the lead as he had a few moments ago wasn't an attempt to make her feel uncomfortable. Dana didn't think anyone could read her, Chase included, so that clearly wasn't his intent. In fact, she was sure it wasn't, and she let the anger ebb away inside of her as she realized Chase had basically saved them from possible disaster with quick thinking.

"Wheew…okay…that was a little tougher than I thought it would be…but we did it…good job."

Dana slowly replied to Chase's compliment, nodding her head with a pensive look on her face as she still was having a debate in her head. Chase noticed this, and rose an eyebrow as he stared at Dana with an appraising look.

"You okay Dana?"

Dana nodded her head, shrugging her shoulders slightly as she shook all of the immature thoughts from her head.

"Yeah…ummm thanks for saving me back there."

Chase nodded his head, giving Dana a cheesy smile.

"Yeah, no problem…what are friends for right?"

Dana smiled at Chase, shaking her head as she broke eye contact and looked around campus, checking her watch as she noticed they should head for class, or at least start walking in the general direction of what each of them had 1st period.

"Yeah …hey ummm it's Tuesday, I have Algebra first period."

Chase nodded, knowing fully-well that their first period classes were in different building on campus.

"And I have English Lit."

Dana nodded at Chase, about to say goodbye, as he let out one more statement.

"Hey, you don't have first period with any of them, do you?"

Dana shook her head. Chas let out a small sigh of relief. Before speaking, Chase scanned the immediate area to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"Okay good…we can think up how we "got together" second period then…so we're prepared…because you know they are all going to want to know."

Dana nodded her head, her face questioning Chase's statement a second after it registered.

"I thought you already thought of how we…I told you too."

Chase shrugged his shoulders, letting out a small laugh at Dana's typical, slightly scolding tone.

"Ummm…yeah I forgot."

Chase rubbed the back of his bushy hair with his hand as Dana put a hand on her hip, shaking her head as she rolled her eyes. After a second, Chase dropped his hand from his hand, shrugging his shoulders as he held both hands out to his sides.

"Besides…I figured we could discuss it and come up with our story together."

The slightly angry expression fell of Dana's face as she fought the urge to smile. She was relieved to know for certain that Chase wasn't trying to take complete control of their plan and use her as a pawn to get Zoey. Dana found it hard to maintain eye contact with Chase for a brief moment. It was nice to know that someone valued her opinion and respected her. Regardless, Dana made none of this public knowledge, putting on the cold exterior that everyone was used to seeing from her.

"Okay…fine…I'll see you second period."

Chase nodded, nervousness obvious in his body language as he slowly walked up to Dana before she could turn and leave, his eyes darting sporadically between Dana and his surroundings. Dana felt her chest rise up a little bit, as it became slightly harder to breathe and talk.

"What…what are you doing Chase…?"

Chase let his eyes dart around for another few seconds, finally looking solely at Dana and shrugging his shoulders.

"Ummm…I'm about to kiss you."

Anger swept over Dana as her initial thought was Chase was taking advantage of the situation, not only working towards getting together with the girl he dreamed of being with since freshman year through her help, but also using her as a piece of meat that he could do whatever he wanted to freely with because they were "going out". Dana's voice went up a few octaves, squeaking slightly as she lowered it to a whisper.

"What…?! No…absolutely not, they're not even around Chase!"

Again, Chase shrugged his shoulders with an apologetic look on his face, knowing along what lines Dana was thinking.

"I know…but if we only kiss…hold hands, whatever, when we are around them…how long do you think it will be before everyone starts suspecting som-"

Dana rolled her eyes, letting out a small scoff before she cut Chase off, knowing exactly what he was about to say, and that it was true.

"Okay, fine…"

Before Chase could register Dana's response she closed the distance between, leaning up on the tip of her toes to kiss Chase squarely on the lips, Chase instinctively closed his eyes as Dana's fluttered shut as well.

After about a second, the kiss lasting a little longer than necessary for the people who were in their general area to notice, they broke contact. Chase let a lopsided grin show on his face, holding his breath as he felt the awkward silence start to set in the moment they broke the kiss.

"I'll see you second period."

Dana nodded quickly.

"Bye."

Dana turned around, not looking back towards Chase, as she walked with haste towards algebra.

**SSHDTN**

Lola stared at Zoey, who stared at the wall lost in thought. It was 2nd period…the two girls sitting next to each other in a study hall they shared as they quizzed each other for an upcoming test. Lola had been waiting for about ten seconds to find out if she was right and Thomas Jefferson was the third president when she realized Zoey wasn't even in the same room as her mentally.

"Zoey…?"

Lola's comment snapped Zoey back to reality. Without thinking, Zoey restarted the conversation by saying what kept running through her mind the entire morning.

"Can you even imagine Dana and Chase together, honestly?"

Lola shot Chase a confused look with one of her eyebrows raised.

"I thought you were tired of talking about them?"

Zoey rolled her eyes, letting out a scoff that only she heard as she replied, "I am." Lola's knew her friend and that she was lying. She also knew that if she tried to change the subject to anything else they would just end back up on in within a few minutes. Saving time, Lola read through Zoey and replied to the statement.

"Ummm…no it is really weird now that I-"

Zoey nodded at Lola's comment, cutting her off and not allowing her to finish.

"I know right like they-"

Lola's retaliated by cutting off Zoey's comment, trying to make Zoey, who was obviously upset by their group's discovery that morning, realize the irony of her words.

"But look at you and Logan…no one ever thought you two would get together."

Zoey tried to reply, but her mouth closed as she couldn't find words as she realized Lola was right. After recollecting her thoughts, Zoey continued the conversation, having a gentle argument with her friend, neither one of them raising their voices above the whisper level that was allowed in study hall.

"Not really…I mean we are both on the basketball team, drama club…and we are in the same group of friends."

Again, Lola turned Zoey's word around on her skillfully, Zoey getting slightly agitated as Lola continued bringing up points that were true, but Zoey didn't really want to hear at the moment.

"Chase and Dana make up our group too Zoey…"

Zoey shook her head, letting a sigh fall out of her lips at Lola's resistance to trying to get her in her corner.

"Yeah, but they are like cat and dog…I mean some get along…they do…but even if they are friendly, they don't get together and make little… dogcat babies."

Lola covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a loud laugh as the substitute teacher overseeing the study hall looked up from his desk momentarily, shaking his head towards Lola. Lola's laughter was contagious, and Zoey almost immediately started laughing as well, doing her best to keep it under control and keep their table's volume down.

Zoey gave up trying to convince Lola, taking the opportunity to change the subject as she didn't want to talk about Dana and Chase, confusing feelings she couldn't decipher welling up in her body every time she did. As soon as both of the girls quit laughing, Lola letting out a sigh as she shook her head. Zoey asked another question, this one having nothing to do with her best guy friend and one of her best girl friends.

"Who was the fourth president of the United States of America?"

**SSHDTN**

Dana let out a sigh as she tried not to fall asleep, staring up at the board as Mrs. Brennan pounded chalk, talking in a monotone voice as most of the class diligently scribbled down what was on the chalkboard into their notes. Dana sighed again, looking over at Chase who jotted messy cursive writing that looked like hieroglyphics in his notebook, fully in his bookworm mode that resulted in him having one of the best grade point averages in their class.

Frustrated, Dana nudged him, causing his pencil to move a few inches as Chase gave her an irritated glance, holding up one finger on his free hand to tell her to wait, as he continued writing down notes.

Dana let out another sigh, this one loud enough for most of the class to hear it. It was halfway through second period, and since Mrs. Brennan decided to go on a Nazi rampage with notes they hadn't spoken more than a few words about what they would tell their friends.

"Chase…"

Chase looked up from his notes, irritation falling off his face as he noticed the serious expression on Dana's. Chase did his best to whisper, their conversation the only sound in the room besides pencils scribbling on paper and chalk crackling on the board.

"Yeah…what's up?"

Dana noticed that their conversation, while quiet, was drawing attention from their classmates due to the absolute silence of the room. Dana leaned her head in a few inches towards Chase as she lowered her voice even further.

"We were supposed to come up with our plan…remember?"

Chase shrugged with a frown on his face as he nodded towards the front of the classroom.

"Sorry…I know."

Dana let out a scoff, making it clear to Chase that she wasn't happy.

"We don't have time for this…I mean I haven't seen them since this morning but I have fourth period with Zoey and Michael…and next period with Lola."

Chase nodded, laying his pencil down as he turned in his chair slightly to face more towards Dana.

"Okay…ummm…you have any ideas?"

Dana let out another scoff, shaking her head as it was still relatively early in the morning according to her, and Chase wasn't exactly making it easy for her to maintain her already less than peachy mood.

"No…this is your idea…remember? I thought you would at least think this through… a little, before you begged me to help you go through with it!"

Dana's hushed tone grew louder towards the end of her statement, almost at normal speaking volume, which caused Chase to put a finger in front of his mouth as he let out a "Shhh".

Dana turned towards the front of the classroom in her seat, crossing her arms as Chase stared at her. Chase tapped Dana on her upper arm after a second, causing her to look over at him, not turning her face entirely as Chase could still see the frustration on her face.

"Okay, look…we'll just tell them that we-"

"Excuse me, Chase?"

Chase snapped his head, along with the rest of his body, towards the front of the classroom, immediately replying to their teacher's comment.

"Ummm, yes?"

Mrs. Brennan put a hand on her hip, her words clearly sarcastic as she peered across the room at the table that Dana and Chase were sitting at.

"Would you and Dana like to answer the question I just asked the class? Because I am sure that you are discussing something that is relevant to this class and not your personal lives."

Dana blinked her eyes, leaving them closed for longer than necessary as she let out a sigh. Chase didn't know what to do, stammering in response to Mrs. Brennan's request.

"Uh…ummm…question?"

Mrs. Brennan shook her head, letting a disappointed look fall on her face as she looked towards Chase, who felt bad considering he thought she was a good teacher and was one of her favorite students.

"That's what I thought."

Chase rubbed the back of his head with his hand, sitting upright in his seat as he looked towards the front of the room.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Brennan…it won't happen again."

Mr. Brennan kept her hand on her hip, considering if she should actually punish her two students in addition to merely embarrassing them. Luckily, Chase did have a perfect record, and after a few seconds of harsh staring and a strict warning Mrs. Brennan turned back around to the chalkboard and continued writing notes.

**A/N:** Okay, I am going to be honest with you… I don't know exactly where these early chapters are heading. Don't get me wrong, I already have the major plot points, drama, climax of the story, and ending in my head…it just may take me a while to get them worked in. Anyways, thanks goes out to everyone reading this and reviewing. I know this story, or at least the pairing, is unusual, or at least a little bit unconventional. Regardless, I hope you are enjoying this story, more to come soon. Like always, thanks for reading, please continue doing so, and if you have the time, review. Thank you, Trim59.


	5. Different

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

Chapter 5

Different

Zoey's eyes darted between the empty desk that stood a few feet beside her and the clock directly above the door. Mixed emotions caused a frustrated sigh to escape her mouth. Sure, she didn't really feel like sitting next to Dana at the particular moment, but at least she could shine a little light on a subject that went unseen by their group for no one knew how long. Zoey couldn't understand why she was so mad, except that she despised being deceived. That was the only logical explanation.

"She's not coming."

Zoey turned around as far as she could in her seat to see Michael.

"How do you know?"

"I ran into Lola on the way over here…she said she didn't see Dana last period, so…"

On cue, the bell rang and Michael quit talking. Zoey turned around in her seat quickly as she reached in her pocket for her cell phone. Leaning forward slightly so the teacher wouldn't see what she was doing, Zoey quickly selected the person the message was meant for and typed "_Where r u?_" and quickly hit the send icon.

**SSHDTN**

Chase nervously played with the small blue slip in his hands. It wasn't often that students were pulled out of class to see Dean Rivers and he couldn't recall a single time that it wound up good for that student. Chase did have more run-ins with Dean Rivers than 99 percent of the student body but this felt different. He couldn't help but swallow back bits of nervousness that were caught in his throat as he continued to fold the slip, unfold the slip, and read the slip as he blindly navigated his way towards the exit of the school building, rarely looking up for more than a brief second to make sure he wasn't about to walk directly into a wall.

Jumping a few feet, Chase crinkled the letter up in his right hand as something approached extremely quickly out of the corner of his eye. Chase barely had time to realize who it was before Dana pushed him somewhat roughly into the nearest wall and stood there with both hands on her hips.

"Ahhh…shit Dana! You scared the…"

Chase pausing for a second gave Dana the opportunity to pounce on her almost helpless and surprised prey.

"Shhh! Quit yelling…do you want us to both get detention?!"

Chase shook his head, but before he could reply Dana continued.

"You're not getting away from me now Matthews…we need a plan. I'm not ditching anymore classes because of you. I would much rather save my absences for when I see fit!"

Chase nodded quickly. "Okay, okay," Chase said with urgency in his voice from his given situation, "but I…can't right now." Chase loosened his death grip on the small blue note in his right hand, holding it with his thumb and index finger as if it was a dirty piece of laundry. Expecting to see Dana at least somewhat shocked that he had actually gotten called to the Dean's office, Chase was caught off guard when Dana held back a small smirk and rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly, Chase…"

Chase tried to cut her off and explain the importance of being prompt in answering Dean River's request, expecting Dana to say that it could wait and that their plan was more important.

"I will meet you as soon as I-"

Dana took a step closer and pointed her hand towards the note that Chase was still barely holding onto with his fingertips.

"Chase…"

"Look, I have to…" The light bulb finally flickered in Chase's brain as he saw the smirk that was still on Dana's face, his voice immediately holding more frustration and anger than before. "You…Ohhh…you…You didn't!"

Dana looked down at the ground and let out a small chuckle, finding the situation entirely too funny to scold Chase once again for yelling in a hall they were not supposed to be in.

"Dana, are you trying to give me a heart attack!?"

Dana's reply of only a smile further aggravated Chase as he raised his voice another octave, it almost coming out of as a squeal.

"I can't believe you…you… little-!"

"Shut up!"

Chase scoffed, but immediately understood why Dana out lashed at him as he heard the approaching footsteps. Putting both hands on his hips, Chase stood silently as he let his head hang.

"What are you doing?!" Dana's whispered harshly, her words sliding through her clenched teeth as she nervously stared at Chase. Chase rolled his eyes at Dana.

"You know the stuff you get me into…"

Dana let her mouth hang open, not sure what he meant. However, within a few seconds she understood as the footsteps started getting louder and she could tell they were definitely coming in their direction.

"Come on…Chase…Chase!"

"Dana…I'm not going to run or try to hide. Hopefully, whoever it is will go light on us for-"

Chase didn't get to finish as Dana grabbed his hand, tugging him so hard in her direction as she started to run that he stumbled and held his breath as he hoped not to fall on his face. Not having his center of balance, Chase could not adequately fight against Dana's grip on his hand. By the time Chase actually had his body under his own control they were already around the first corner and sprinting down another hallway filled on both sides with lockers, slowly increasing their speed from a fast jog to a run.

In a few seconds Chase had gone from standing still…to holding his breath and awaiting punishment… to running through a PCA school building. His heart pounded through his chest as he tried to catch his breath so he could scold Dana. Every stride Chase took he could think of a few different ways to put it, a few different things to emphasize on, and a few more things she had done that he didn't approve of, and all of this only being in the last few minutes. When he finally caught his breath and tried to speak Chase was surprised that the only thing that came out was laughter. It became even harder to breath as laughing rumbled his chest, but Chase kept pace with Dana regardless. He tried to control it but he couldn't…it wasn't normal. It wasn't the typical Michael made a joke or Logan spilled something on one of his shirts and flipped out like a 12 year old girl laugh, it was different. Chase couldn't explain it but he had felt a plethora of emotions in the last few seconds; anger, irritation, surprise, fear…and now he was feeling happiness…no, ecstasy…and not a care in the world as he sped up a little and started to pull Dana with him as they still had their hands interlocked.

Shocked, Dana looked over at Chase as he came even and actually passed her. She couldn't readily think of a time Chase had a smile that big on his face in the past, but it caused a wave of happiness and relief to pass over her as Chase's emotions seemed to be contagious. Widening her stride, Dana managed to keep pace with Chase after the initial shock and stay by his side. Again, Dana couldn't help but have curiosity which caused her to look up slightly at Chase, who once again looked down and met eyes with her. The smile was still there, along with a slight flicker in his eyes that she couldn't recall _ever _seeing, and it caused her heartbeat to pound a little harder as her body struggled to keep pace with him. Chase's laughter was also contagious as the boisterous sound filled the hallway they were sprinting through, but neither one of them cared.

The double door they were quickly approaching was the finish line they both had their sights on, knowing that they would breathe the fresh air of freedom in a few seconds. Dana slowed down to a jog but stumbled slightly when Chase didn't slow down his pace. Letting go of Chase's hand, Dana quickly changed her position from running beside Chase to directly behind him, intent on following the path he was going to make. When they were within ten feet of the door Dana was slightly surprised that Chase still hadn't slowed down, not even a little. She hoped he didn't push through the door so hard he smashed it off the side of the building and broke it. Regardless, she was having too much fun to worry and stayed closely behind Chase as they reached the door.

Like a running back, Chase straightened his arm and pushed with all of his might against the door. The door didn't move in the slightest, Chase's arm being the first thing to give way under his body's force. Everything went black as he felt the pain of smashing into the door, falling backwards as most of his attention was on his arm that felt like it had snapped in two.

**SSHDTN**

Like someone a fraction of her age, Zoey sat quietly at the lunch table playing with her food, tracing a smiley face in her ketchup with her French fry as her writing utensil. Off in her own little world, Zoey hadn't partaken in any of the group's conversations or even looked up from her lunch tray since she sat down.

"Hmmm…maybe they just aren't hungry."

The entire group, including Zoey, looked at Michael as he took a giant bite out of the hamburger in front of him.

"You…know," Michael paused momentarily, deciding to chew and swallow his food before continuing, "Sometimes when you're busy you forget to eat…"

"And what could they possibly be busy with?!" Logan exclaimed, throwing his hands out to his sides from his seat.

Michael broke eye contact with Logan as he let out a laugh, took another giant chunk out of his hamburger, and shrugged his shoulder in a less than subtle way.

"You know…like stuff," Lola stated, trying to think of something to say on the spot but failing miserably. This caused Michael to laugh even harder as he almost choked on the food in his mouth and had to take a swig of his Pepsi.

"You just wait until I get my hands on Dana…"

Immediately, the rest of the group gave Zoey a questioning look, the expression on Logan's face the least pleased.

"Chase does not miss school…remember last year during finals…I think he came down with every illness known to man but he still didn't miss a single exam."

Zoey continued tracing doodles in her condiments as she looked around the table.

"Chase is one of my best friends…I just hope she doesn't corrupt him. I mean it's cool if she likes to skip school and get detention all the time…but she doesn't need to make Chase like her."

"Ahh, I think it might be a little late Zo," Logan replied, leaning back in his chair as he placed an elbow on the top of it and faced towards his girlfriend. The questioning look on Zoey's face urged Logan to finish his thoughts and he obliged.

"He dated Rebecca for what…like 2…3 months? And I never saw them kiss in public, not once…I think I saw him kiss her on the cheek outside her room one night."

Michael saw where Logan was going and decided to finish for him.

"And he's been dating Dana for…well…we don't know…but, he was just making out with her this morning in the middle of campus where anyone could…"

The entire group followed Michael's eyes as he looked up at a young man, about their age, that was standing behind Logan and Zoey's chairs.

"Hey…what's up Terry?" Michael asked, knowing the male the best out of anyone at the table.

"Hey you guys are really good friends with Chase…" The group nodded in unison. "…I was wondering what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Michael replied as everyone turned in their chairs to get a better look at Terry, their curiosity building.

"The current rumor is he got shot…but you know how people are here at PCA…I was just wondering what the ambulance was actually for…"

"What?!" Zoey exclaimed, practically jumping out of her seat as she faced towards the boy, "What ambulance?!" Terry backed up a step, not expecting any surprise or outbursts from Chase's closest group of friends.

"The one that came and got him…"

"When?!" Zoey and Lola's voices overlapped as Michael and Logan's eyes bulged as they stared across the table at each other.

"About the end of third period…"

**SSHDTN**

Chase couldn't help but feel somewhat self conscious as the doctor stared at his arm, holding his breath slightly as he hoped to not feel any pain. After about twenty seconds of close inspection, a few different positions of arm placement, and a few "Does that hurt?" questions to which Chase replied each time by shaking his head, the doctor let go of his arm and tapped Chase a few times on the shoulder.

"Okay, it looks like they did a good job."

Chase nodded weakly as the doctor wrote a few things down in his files.

"I'll be right back in a few minutes, okay?"

Chase nodded and the doctor gave him an encouraging smile before walking out of the room. As soon as Chase heard the door close he grasped his forehead with his fully functional arm, trying to rub out some of his tension as he let out a sigh.

"You know…" Dana said softly, looking down at her feet that she swung back and forth below her as they dangled from the doctor's table, "…I thought you would have cried…" Dana tried to cheer Chase up with a small smirk.

"I was on the inside…" Chase said, turning in his seat next to the tiny desk in the room to face Dana, "Just like we both will be when Dean Rivers is done with us…"

Chase continued staring at Dana, an awkward silence falling between them as she didn't fight back. The awkwardness became accompanied with uneasiness in Chase as he saw the smirk slowly fall of Dana's face to an expression that looked hurt, upset, and sad all at the same time.

"Just say it Chase."

Chase shook his head for a moment, not sure what Dana meant.

"What?"

"That this is my fault!" Chase gulped, not sure if Dana's anger was coming from a feeling of guilt or false accusations that she thought he was going to place on her as she started to vent. "That if I never would have gotten you out of class, or made you run…none of this would have happened…!"

Dana's exterior cracked long enough for Chase to feel like he got kicked in his lower stomach as she stumbled over her words.

"Well...You know what Chase?! Keep tracing it back…because if you would have just came up with an idea second period like we planned…or not have even came up with this stupid idea in the first place…!" Dana broke eye contact, staring back down at her feet that hung motionless below her. Her words went back to a more subtle volume as she finished her tangent. "…But I was the one who agreed…"

Knowing full well that Dana was indeed blaming herself for the situation they were in at the current moment, even though it truly wasn't her fault, Chase felt horrible. Sure, she had tricked him into getting out of class, she agree to the idea Chase had, and she did make him run down that hallway, but who was the dumbass that ran into the locked door going full speed? Besides, he had even felt the pull of her hand as she tried to slow down but he wouldn't…he was having too much fun. It was agonizing sifting through the details in his head, almost as agonizing as trying to think of something on the spot to try to make her feel better and know that he wasn't blaming her.

"Dana, I'm not blaming you…I'm just…Look…" Chase let out a frustrated grunt as he tried to get his words out correctly. "I'm just upset right now…not at you, at the situation…"

"And I caused the situation!" Dana snapped, staring at Chase with eyes that held a hint of glossiness. "…So that makes you mad at me…" Dana dropped her head, refusing to take the guilt and anger she had at herself out on Chase any further. Chase failed at a few attempts to think of something good to say, stumbling over his words and giving up as he let out a sigh. While Chase couldn't think of anything great that would necessarily cheer Dana up, he refused to sit in silence and uneasiness any longer and began to say whatever what on his mind.

"You know Dana…we've been friends since you came here in 9th grade…all you girls."

Dana gave a weak nod, not lifting up her head to look at Chase as she swung her feet rhythmically.

"But I really can't remember a single time that just the two of us hung out. I mean sure…we've had…what three classes where it is just you and me?"

Dana nodded, knowing that he meant while the classes he was talking about had many other students than just them they were the only two out of their group attending.

"But I mean really hanging out…not class. A couple times it was just us and Nicole before she left…or Zoey before her and Logan became inseparable…or Logan."

Again, Dana nodded, finding no urge to get actively involved in the conversation as she continued to stare at her feet.

"I probably wouldn't have survived it if we did," Chase let out a small chuckle before finishing his sentence, "I'm glad we didn't."

For the first time in minutes, Dana snapped her head to look up at Chase, the surprise of his sudden low blow not giving Dana any time to put up her normal emotionless front and hurt showed through her eyes.

"Ahhh…I didn't mean it like that…that sounded mean."

Waiting for a verbal beating, Chase's throat went dry as Dana stared at him without saying a word, her lips tightening into a frown.

"Like today…in general…like….okay," Chase fumbled over his thoughts as he tried to explain to Dana as quickly as possible that he didn't mean it as an insult. "This morning…breakfast was fun…talking to you one on one and not just like usual when our group chats about whatever…" Taking a chance and deciding to push his luck slightly, Chase didn't leave out the next thing that went through his mind. "…Kissing you wasn't that bad either…"

Chase breathed easier as Dana raised an eyebrow at him, the look of indifference on her face better in comparison to the frown and glossy eyes she had moments before. Not wanting to hear Dana call him Logan again for acting well…like Logan, Chase continued on with his line of thought.

"And I was actually happy for the first time in a while…actually smiled and didn't just fake it." Chase smiled weakly at Dana to reinforce his point, not expecting her to return the favor but she did. "And then in second period you almost got us detention and I…was mad." Chase quickened his pace of speech as he didn't want to get cut off and knew he had to push through a rough body before he got to the more positive conclusion he was trying to make. "And then I get called out of class to go see Dean Rivers…and I am scared out of my mind. Then I see you, feel a little bit better, then find out it was you…and I'm pissed."

Chase slowed down as he saw Dana was interested and listening closely to what he had to say and didn't intend on cutting him off by yelling at him.

"Then we are about to get caught skipping class…because of you…and get a week of detention and I am scared and mad. Then I'm running down the hall getting dragged along by you and I want to…to…trip you I am so irritated and upset."

Dana let out an exclamation in disbelief at Chase, a mix of a laugh and a scoff. Chase didn't stop to explain his last statement further.

"And before I know it I'm dragging you down the hall…having the most fun I can remember in a long time…happy…again."

Having broke eye contact with Dana briefly during his story of his day with her Chase was relieved to see that Dana was smiling when he looked back at her.

"Then I'm running into a locked door…and I got a broken arm…and I'm sad." Chase didn't look at Dana as he raised his casted hand above his head for a brief second before laying it back in his lap.

A look of surprise and shock came across Chase's face as Dana burst out in laughter, trying to cover her mouth with her right hand as she held her side with her left.

"Hey…it's not funny…" Chase initially tried to sound hurt but his words trailed off towards the end as he began laughing with Dana. The whole situation was many things, but funny was undeniably one of them looking back at his misfortune in hindsight.

Dana hopped down the few inches from her seat onto the floor, bending over at the waist slightly and leaning against the doctor's table as laughter continued to riddle her body. "I…know…it's not Ch-…" The laughter required so much oxygen from her lungs it forced Dana to stop trying to talk to Chase. After they had both regained their composure, Dana stood up straight.

"I'm sorry Chase I d-"

"Shhh…" Chase replied, waving his uninjured hand to his side as if to say "It's no big deal".

Chase smirked at Dana, the hint of emotion gleaming from his eyes much like it had earlier. Dana still couldn't distinguish it, she could have sworn she had never seen him look like that before, but maybe she was just never looking. It didn't cause her heart to race like it had before; it only caused a small sense of heat in her body as she returned his smirk.

"I mean you should be…because you are the biggest cause of my frustration and grief as of lately…" Dana rolled her eyes playfully at Chase, the smirk on her face still there as it seemed to have a mind of its own. "But I forgive you…because you also seem to be my biggest cause of happiness lately …" Immediately after giving the compliment, Chase looked away. Hoping that she wasn't staring at him, Chase nervously rubbed his right hand over his left hand's new accessory.

Instinctively, Dana dropped her head to hide her blush as soon as Chase finished, the smile she tried so hard to fight against could not be seen by Chase, even if he was looking. After a few seconds, Dana could feel Chase's eyes on her and looked up; hoping the blush she knew was there had dimmed. When Dana looked up the smile she had been fighting so hard against won out when she saw Chase shyly smiling back at her.

All Dana could manage was, "Thank you…" it being harder to speak then she expected. Chase nodded his head, his own uneasiness subsiding as he let out a breath he had been holding. Dana took a few steps towards the center of the small room, "So…umm...When we get back to PCA we should…"

Chase was as surprised with himself as Dana was as he sat there with his hands out to his sides like a small child wishing to be picked up. He didn't understand why he wanted to pull her…pull them… back into the awkward place they had just been, especially when she gave him a perfect opening to play the last few minutes off like they had never happened. Regardless, here Chase was with his hands open wide to Dana with a cheesy grin on his face.

"Come on…" Chase said simply, not explaining any further.

"What?"

"Come on…don't try to change the subject…I think that last little thing there deserves a hug."

Dana didn't reply with words, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at Chase with confusion on her face.

"I figure…I'm the more extroverted of the two of us so I would start…now all you have to do is come over here."

Chase looked down at the eight to ten feet that separated them and then back up to Dana. For some reason, Dana could not control her emotions and was once again fighting against a smile wishing to form on her face as she dropped her hands to her hips. Playfully, Dana cut the distance between them in half and stopped. Chase waited for a few seconds and Dana did the same, the teenage boy finally getting her drift as he saw the playful look on her face.

"Fine…fine…make the crippled kid get up."

Chase was halfway to standing up when Dana pushed him back into his seat. Bumping his head against the wall behind the chair, Chase narrowed his eyes as he stared up at Dana.

"Owww…! You need boyfriend injury insurance or something…fake or not!"

Dana let out a short laugh as she bent down and leaned in towards Chase. "Come here…"

Chase, returning Dana's earlier playful behavior, pulled away slightly as her arms began to wrap themselves around his neck. "Come here…" Chase quit fighting and allowed Dana to come closer as he wrapped his arms around her lower back.

"What was all the laughing about?"

Prematurely, Dana and Chase ended their embrace as Dana stood upright and turned around.

"Oh nothing, Chase is quite the-"

The room went silent as Chase and Dana both stared with fear at Dean Rivers.


	6. I Would Never Hurt You

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

Chapter 6

I Would Never Hurt You

Dean Rivers rubbed the bridge of his nose as Chase and Dana tried to talk over one another about how it was their fault and the other was completely not to blame. He hadn't even been in the room for a minute and they were both almost yelling at him and one another. Around the time the two teenagers began fighting more amongst one another over whose fault it actually, rather than why or actually how it happened, Dean Rivers intervened.

"Stop…!"

Chase and Dana both fell silent as they stared at the ground, both of them now standing in front of him side by side. The headache the respected man had since he got the call in his office and had to drive to the hospital had worsened since he got in the room, and caused his voice to come out almost whiny as he looked at Dana and Chase with disappointment.

"I don't care whose fault it is…at least not right now. I just want to know…why I'm at the hospital right now with two of my students…one of them injured…and how this all happened."

Cutting both teenagers off as they opened their mouths at the same time, Dean Rivers stuck his hand out in front of him. "One at a time…please!" Dean Rivers waited impatiently as a few seconds of silence passed before Chase decided to speak.

"I snuck out of class and went to see Dana and…what?"

Dana and Dean Rivers both staring at Chase alerted him to the fact that it was obvious he was lying and trying to cover for Dana. A hint of anger rose up in the brunette as she felt like Chase was trying to take the heat for her. She was a big girl…and she had been getting in trouble since Chase was getting straight A's. She could handle herself.

"I snuck Chase out of class Dean Rivers."

Dean Rivers looked at Dana and nodded, knowing it was the much more likely thing that actually transpired.

"I…We had to talk about…I had to…"

Dana looked over nervously at Chase as she stumbled over her words. Unfortunately, Chase's face held nervousness and she knew he wasn't going to be any help. It was funny to herself that within five seconds she had went from being stubborn and not wanting Chase's help to hoping that he would somehow rescue her. She knew she couldn't tell Dean Rivers the real reason…that they had to make up a plan on how their fake relationship began. Not that it could make matters any worse but it was definitely unnecessary information and would probably lengthen the lecture they were going to receive from Dean Rivers before he punished, and probably expelled them.

"I just wanted to see him…"

Dean Rivers nodded slowly.

"And…how did you get to the point where Chase is laying unconscious on the floor with his head in your lap…with a broken arm? Mrs. Spelling was not very detailed in her telling of this story…"

The sarcasm at the end of Dean River's statement went unnoticed as Chase gave Dana a surprised look. Chase hadn't awoken until halfway through the ambulance trip to the hospital, his forearm shattering causing his body too much shock, he wasn't aware of what transpired during his brief unconsciousness. Feeling uncomfortable under Chase's stare, Dana shrugged her shoulders at Chase and decided to continue her story.

"We were…out in the hall…and we heard footsteps and started to run-"

"Doing what?"

Dana's eyes darted around the room briefly. "We were…just talking…" Dana tried to fight back against the agitated and disrespectful tone that came out due to Dean River's line of questions as he rolled his eyes. "…But then we ran."

"That's pretty much it Dean Rivers," Chase stated, "And when we saw the door I thought it was unlocked…it wasn't."

Dean Rivers shook his head. "You were obviously still running to hit the door with enough force to break…"

Chase nodded slowly, letting his head hang.

"Why?"

Chase shook his head, not sure what to say besides the truth. "I was having fun…"

"Skipping class and running from a staff member?" Dean Rivers' voice held more disappointment than before as he stared at one of his brighter students who he never would have expected such from. With shame, Chase nodded. "Yes…sir…"

Returning to rubbing the bridge of his nose, Dean Rivers stood in the small room without a word for some time as both Chase and Dana held their breath. Finally, after about twenty or so seconds Dean Rivers put his thoughts into words.

"It's safe to assume then…from the position Mrs. Spelling found you two in…from the position I found you two in when I walked in…and from your behavior…sneaking out of class to see one another…that you two are together?"

The two teenagers stared at one another for a second before looking back to Dean Rivers and nodding.

Slowly, Dean Rivers rubbed his hand through his hair as he let out a sigh. "You know something…in high school I dated this one girl..."

"Just one…?" Dana's witty comment caused Chase to nudge her in the ribs.

"I'm sorry…Dean Rivers."

Dean Rivers nodded his head slowly, resting a hand on his hip as he was obviously less than pleased with Dana's comment.

"No…more than just one Dana…but this one was different. Her name was Victoria White."

Chase and Dana both nodded, wondering where Dean Rivers' story was heading.

"She was a lot like you Dana…not exactly my type. You see, I was kind of the bookworm…goody goody type in high school."

Dana nodded her head forcefully, biting her tongue to prevent herself from saying another smart comment.

"She was rather rebellious…exhilarating…at least for me. I had gotten detention only once before my sophomore year…and by halfway through it we were no longer together and my record was almost as…impressive as yours Dana."

Both students nodded. Dana held back a smirk as she tried to imagine Dean Rivers being a "bad kid" and getting into any sort of trouble. Neither Chase nor Dana had the slightest idea where he was trying to go with his little story, but both breathed easier as it seemed Dean Rivers was growing less infuriated with them by the minute.

"You are both two of my favorite students. You are both smart…hard workers…when you want to be…" Dean Rivers paused for a moment to stare solely at Dana. "And I could go on…even if you have…some undesirable traits, you are still teenagers. It is only natural for you to still have some immature traits…but you both are much better than most PCA students your age."

Once again, Dana and Chase's words overlapped and they muttered thanks.

"Pardon me asking…but is there anything that you two admire about each other…that makes you want to be together? Besides the fact that a lot of people probably don't think you should…and that you come from the opposite side of the tracks so to speak?"

Chase and Dana both nodded quickly, Chase being the first one to reply to Dean Rivers' question.

"Yeah…she's…really sweet…" Chase could feel Dana's stare on him as he explained. He decided to put his last statement into different words as he knew Dana would hate to be called "sweet".

"She's….she's caring I guess is what I'm trying to say…even though a lot of people don't know it. She puts up with me…even though we get into fights…she doesn't leave. She stays and we work it out…even though it isn't always pretty."

Chase broke eye contact with Dean Rivers and looked at Dana, noticing a small, hesitant smile adorned on her face. Dana broke eye contact with Chase as soon as he looked at her, deciding instead to look at Dean Rivers and nod.

"He's the kindest and most caring person I know. He would give me the shirt off his back if I was cold…even if we were in below zero degree weather and that's all he had. He's…forgiving…even when I mess up he doesn't hold it above my head. He ummm…makes me happier than anyone else does…"

"You too…" Dana and Dean Rivers both looked at Chase as he added his comment, Dana looking away to hide a small blush after briefly meeting eyes with him.

Dean Rivers nodded his head, obviously somewhat pleased as he had a smile on his face. He might not have known that they were only talking about one another from what had transpired that day, but he was impressed nonetheless.

"Come on…I'm parked outside," Dean Rivers said simply.

"What…no speech on how disappointed you are…about how much more you expect out of us…how you could kick us out-" Again, Dana received a small nudge to the ribs from Chase to signal her to stop talking as she shot Chase an agitated stare out of the corner of her eye. Regardless of the fact that she was somewhat glad Chase stopped her before she continued she was still tired of getting poked in the ribs.

"No Ms. Cruz, I think you have gotten that spiel enough this semester. I was going to save us both the time."

Chase and Dana both excitedly uttered thanks to Dean Rivers, causing him to destroy disillusions they had in their heads.

"If you two think you are not going to get punished you are crazy." Dean Rivers said somewhat sourly. "But….if you think I'm going to expel either of you I would say the same thing."

**SSHDTN**

"Nice touch," Chase said, muffling a laugh as Dana put the finishing touches on the giant heart that was equally as big as the four letters of her first name in capital letters right beside it. Dana let out a small laugh as she realized how much space on the cast her name took up as she put the lid back on the sharpie and placed it on the end table next to her along Chase's bed.

"Thank you." Sarcastically, Dana added, "Do you think it will convince people that I own you?"

Chase's eyes bulged out slightly as he stifled another laugh. "Own me? Wow, possessive enough Ike?"

Dana rolled her eyes at Chase. "Well I guess that makes you Whitney, huh?"

"Hey…I was just trying to get you back for calling me Logan earlier."

Without a second thought, Dana let out a small giggle with a smile on her face. "I know…" Chase smiled back as silence sunk into the room after the two shared a brief laugh. Chase sat up towards Dana in concern as he noticed the happiness slide off her face in exchange for a serious and somewhat confused expression. Chase didn't say anything for a few seconds as he watched Dana's eyes bounce around the room and finally end up in her lap.

"Hey," Chase turned on his bed to face Dana, moving his legs from being crossed in front of him to placing one behind Dana's back as he moved slightly closer, "You okay?"

"Ummm…yeah….hey …I'm gonna go." Dana met eyes with Chase and nodded before Chase could decipher anything Dana was doing. Before Dana could start towards the door she so desperately wanted to pass through she felt Chase's hand wrap gently around her wrist.

Hoping it was Chase only trying to stop her to say goodbye she turned her face in Chase's direction, not making eye contact, as she muttered, "Goodnight Chase." Anger was the first emotion Dana felt when she tried to take a step towards the door and felt Chase's hand still around her arm.

"Chase…let go of my arm…" Dana kept her eyes on the door as she focused on keeping her speech even and calm. Before she knew it, Dana was trying to keep her body from shaking as she felt Chase's grasp on her arm tighten slightly. His grasp was still gentle, Chase's hand not constraining or placing any real pressure on Dana's wrist, but to Dana it might have as well been Chase attempting to break her wrist.

"Chase…let go of my-!"

"I just want to know what's wrong-"Chase's soft volume had no chance of being heard as Dana exclaimed over him, her voice approaching a scream and easily much louder than his own.

"Let go!"

Chase, feeling the opposition on his hand from Dana and knowing she was about to tug away from his grasp, stood up as quickly as possible. Startled and acting on instinct she had learned, Dana turned her body away from Chase, cowering as she closed her eyes and lowered her head as much as possible. Shocked, Chase let go of her hand as he stared at Dana, her whole body now shaking as she slowly raised her head to look at Chase, still turning her head to one side as she could only see Chase out of the corner of one eye.

Chase was not attempting to mimic Dana, at least not consciously, but his whole body shook as he stood at Dana. Fighting against a throat that was so dry it felt as if he just ate a bucketful of sand, Chase spoke barely above a whisper, his voice so soft Dana could barely hear him.

"Dana…I wasn't…I'm…never going to hurt you…"

Dana nodded slowly, her body finally starting to recover from cowering as she finally placed both of her eyes on Chase. "I…I know Chase…" It was easy for Chase to pick up on the inconsistencies in Dana's voice and the way it shook slightly. Chase's mind felt like it was about to overload as a million thoughts ran through it on how Dana reacted.

"Dana…did someone-"

"Stop, please!" Dana voice pleaded with Chase's as the tears cascaded down her cheeks, appearing from nowhere as only moments before her eyes were clear and her cheeks were completely dry.

"Dana…who hur-"

"Chase! …Please…" Dana let her eyes drop back to the floor as she wrapped her arms around her midsection, her whole body contorting slightly with each breath that fueled a sob. Slowly and somewhat cautiously as to not further startle her, but at the same time with haste, Chase closed the distance between Dana and himself. Without a word, Chase held Dana in his arms as tightly as he could, feeling Dana's body loosen up and mold to his. Rubbing his hand slowly over her brunette locks, Chase remained silent as he felt the moisture from her tears on his neck and heard the muffled sobs that were so close to his ear.

"Oh…umm my bad…" Chase and Dana's attention immediately went to the door Dana was desperately trying to get to earlier, Dana turning around slightly then turning back towards Chase as she noticed everybody was now in the room or in the process of entering the three boy's dormitory. Chase didn't pay attention to the concerns, worries, and comments about his new arm accessory from his friends as he stared down at Dana, no longer in his embrace but still only a few inches in front of him. Amazingly, she was able to completely regain her defenses and composure. Chase knew that when she turned around any second Michael, Logan, Zoey, and Lola would never be able to guess she was just sobbing in his arms. Her eyes, bloodshot and swollen, were the only giveaway and he knew that she wouldn't let them get a good look.

"Chase, I got to go." The moment after she quickly uttered her goodbye Dana turned around, managing to exit the room and close the door behind her within 5 seconds. Chase hadn't even attempted to hinder her attempt at getting as far away from him as she could this time. He knew better, and he respected her more than to try to force her to stay in an uncomfortable position in her current emotional state. Regardless, he felt like he was stuck in quicksand and powerless to help one of his closest friends.

Reality brought Chase out of deep thought as he realized he had been asked about twenty concerned questions in the last ten seconds and had been toning them out. Chase snapped his head to look at Michael, who he hadn't realized was no longer near the entrance of the room, but all the way across the room next to him and his bed.

"What Michael, what…?!"

Michael pointed towards the door, "What's with Dana?" Chase only heard part of the question as Zoey exclaiming, "What happened to your arm?!" as Logan and Dana asked similar questions with slightly different word choices overlapped.

"I don't know what wrong…I broke-"Another barrage of questions from his friends caused an already confused Chase to lose his train of thought as he grabbed the sides of his hair and shook his head.

"How'd you break it?" Michael's fifth or sixth question for Chase was the final straw for the young bushy haired teenager, his voice coming out more brash and rude than he intended.

"I don't have time for 21 questions right now, okay?!"

On a mission, Chase almost made it through his group of friends and out the door until he felt a soft hand on his forearm. Twirling around, Chase managed to hold back and not let his emotions burst out of his mouth again as he saw the hand belonged to Zoey.

"Chase, where are-"

"Zoey, look, not right now…I got to go." Zoey released Chase from her grasp to put her hands to her side for further emphasis of the confused look on her face. Taking advantage of the opening, Chase made it out of the door before anyone had the chance to ask another question or stop him.

**SSHDTN**

He had been running…fast…for a couple of minutes. Regardless, Chase still had not seen Dana and fear sunk into his stomach as he hoped she had taken the most direct way to her dorm and didn't take an alternate route. He was already halfway there and there was still no sign of the only girl in the world he was concerned about at the present moment. Chase's worries grew as he realized she had only had about a ten or fifteen second head start. There were only two plausible explanations; she took a different way to her room or god knew where, or she had decided to run as he was now…she was a good athlete and could have covered just as much ground as him in the same amount of time. With every fiber of his body, Chase hoped for the latter.

Just when he was about to give up and panic, Chase was fairly certain that the figure on the bench in the distance was Dana. Within five seconds, Chase had closed the distance enough to confirm his belief. He slowed his pace down to a walk as Dana stood up and turned so he couldn't see her face, not realizing it was Chase and definitely not wanting some random person to see her in the condition she was in.

"Hey…" Chase gasped, not realizing how out of breath he actually was until he stopped sprinting across campus. Dana didn't reply, and while her face always said the most for Chase he couldn't see Dana clearly until he was within ten feet due to the lack of lighting. The feeling of sinking in quicksand returned, along with the sandpaper dry throat, as he realized that fresh tears were once again running down Dana's face. He didn't know what to do except stand there, and he didn't know if it was enough. He knew he didn't have the right words to say but he managed to hold her as tightly as he could as she fell into his body, digging her head into the crevice between his neck and chest as her sobs vibrated through both of them.


	7. Forgotten

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

Chapter 7

Forgotten

It was Saturday morning and setting an alarm was not necessary. However, Chase didn't want to sleep, and after laying down for bed a little after one in the morning, decided 9 A.M. was a reasonable time to get up. Almost eight full hours of sleep was plenty enough but Chase still let out a groan as his hand missed the alarm button on his first few tries.

"Hit snooze!"

Chase didn't reply to Logan's yelling as his fourth try silenced the alarm clock. Chase took his time moving his body into a sitting position on his bed. Scanning the room, Chase saw Michael across the room lounging on the couch and watching television, still in his pajamas. Slowly, Chase got up from bed and went across the room to join Michael. Chase received an unenthusiastic,"Sup?" from Michael as he plopped down on one end of the couch. Letting out a huge yawn, Chase shook his head as if to say nothing much.

"Hey…you never did say where you were last night." Michael said as he repositioned his body on the couch.

Still the slightest bit irritated about the previous night, Chase sarcastically replied, "Here…getting interrogated about my broken arm…how it happened…why I skipped…defending Dana…getting laughed at by you for having two weeks of after school detention starting Monday…ummm…until about one in the morning."

Michael looked at Chase with a slightly amused smirk, finally shrugging his shoulders and nodding his head. "Yeah my bad man…our bad really…it could have waited until the morning."

Chase shook his head. "No... You guys did deserve to know…I would have been worried sick if it was one of you." Michael nodded his head, knowing for certain that Chase would have been worse than even Zoey if someone else from their group was missing… and the only knowledge he had was they were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

"We could have gotten in a lot of trouble though."

Michael's eyebrows peaked up slightly as he stared at Chase.

"You know…for the whole opposite sexes in dorm room thing. I mean...curfew was 11 and not eight last night because of the weekend but Zoey and Lola were in here well past-"

"Wait a minute," Michael said as he scooted up in his seat with a smile on his face. "You're telling me the PCA hoodlum Chase Matthews…who skips class, breaks PCA rules, and gets detention was afraid of getting in trouble."

Chase replied immediately, not finding any humor in Michael's comment. "Two weeks of detention and a broken arm are enough for one day thank you very much."

Michael let out a childish giggle, his attention falling back on the television as his laughter subsided. Chase followed suit, starting to get engrossed in a rerun of Laguna Beach, which he wondered why Michael was watching in the first place. After a few seconds of silence, a random burst of laughter coming once again from Michael filled the air. Looking at Michael, Chase couldn't help but to let out a small chuckle as he waited for Michael to offer some sort of explanation.

"You know, I was just thinking…"

Chase nodded for Michael to continue.

"If we were all here right now…even Quinn…she would have said how…technically…it was one in the morning… so the trouble that you got in for having females in our dorm would count towards the following day…"

Chase nodded, letting out another miniature laugh as he shook his head. Turning their attention once again to Logan's big screen TV a few feet away from them, Michael and Chase grew silent.

**SSHDTN**

Chase didn't sit for long. In fact, Chase was out the door at the first commercial break while Michael opted to meet up later and Logan was still snoring in his bed. Once he was out of his dormitory building Chase sat down at the first bench and pulled out his cell phone. Disregarding the fact that common sense would tell anybody not to text or call Dana before around noon on the weekend, Chase paused for a few seconds to think what to put and without a second thought sent a short text message to Dana.

_Hey D…text me when u get up n we can get breakfast or something_

Chase knew Dana was strong, and the external barriers she put up at all times would make you think she was invulnerable unless you saw her while they were down, but he was still worried about her from the previous night. Sure, everyone in their group of friends was close enough with Dana for her to partially lower her guard around them, but never before had Chase, or anyone he thought, ever seen her so vulnerable. They didn't speak…he was only there for her and held her in his arms for almost two hours while she cried. Chase couldn't imagine how much she had caged up inside of her that she had let out, and hopefully she was feeling better. Regardless, he was still worried about her…he cared about her.

Holding no hopes of getting a speedy reply, Chase decided to relax and scanned the part of campus that was in view of his seat, saying hello to a few people he knew as they walked by. Less than thirty seconds after he put his cell phone back in its resting place Chase felt the vibration on his thigh. Once he retrieved his phone from his pocket Chase read the text message that was from Dana.

_Where r u?_

Chase replied with "_Rite outside boy dorms". _Not sure if she was going to reply, or if she was awake or still half asleep in bed, Chase left his phone in his hand as he went back to observing his surroundings. Even if Chase wasn't people watching somewhat attentively he would have been able to pick Dana out from the crowd as he spotted her approaching his position. It was a typical Dana outfit; jeans, black t-shirt, and tennis shoes. The jeans and shirt fit to her body but by no means were tight or meant to show off. Regardless, she still looked great and something seemed slightly different with her. Chase was so caught up with Dana herself that he didn't notice what was in her hands until she stopped in front of him.

"Good morning." Chase said as he looked up at Dana who held a blueberry muffin out to him. With a smile, Chase accepted his favorite breakfast as he muttered thanks and Dana sat down next to him with her own. Silently, Dana sat down the muffin in her lap and ripped off a small chunk of it. Dana let out a small "Mmm" sound as she chewed her food which caused Chase to laugh.

"You seem in a good mood?"

Dana turned her face to look at Chase, brushing away a stubborn curl of hair from her forehead at the same time. Dana didn't reply with words as she merely nodded her head and gave Chase a small smile. Turning forwards in her seat again, Dana placed another bite in her mouth and stared at the familiar people and not so familiar people that walked by. Feeling his stare, Dana looked over at Chase.

"I thought you were hungry?"

Someone that didn't know Dana as well as Chase would have thought she was upset or being rude, but he knew she was just wondering why he hadn't taken a bite yet and wasn't being snide. Chase glanced down at his muffin and then back up to Dana, only offering a small nod in reply. Truthfully, he had been too busy staring at her trying to tell what was slightly different about her appearance, attitude, and mood to dig into his breakfast. Chase figured he would have more than enough time to talk to his fake girlfriend after he ate her present for him.

About five minutes passed in relative silence like it had the previous day, blueberry muffin breakfast seeming to become the first tradition the pseudo couple had installed into their relationship as they gazed off into the morning scenery. Chase finished his breakfast slightly before Dana regardless of her head start. Being his polite self, Chase stuck his hand out for Dana's garbage and disposed of both muffin wrappers in the garbage receptacle next to their bench.

"I owe you." Chase said. Dana shook her head, still staring off into the distance.

"No…"

Waiting for Dana to elaborate and receiving nothing, Chase decided to spark a conversation with a rather standoffish version of Dana. "Okay, I guess the blueberry muffin tab is even again." Chase let out a small laugh and expected Dana to do the same, but she didn't. Dana shook her head again but with more force as she finally turned her face to look at Chase.

"No Chase," Dana said, her voice surprising Chase by how sincere and soft it sounded, "If anyone owes anyone anything…I definitely-"

Chase nodded his head. "I…understand what you meant D…I was just trying to make conversation…and you don't owe me anything at all." Dana nodded her head fiercely, transfixing her eyes on Chase's and speaking a little more deliberate to get her point across. "Yes…I do Chase. No one has ever…been there for me like-"

Chase broke eye contact for a second. "No you don't Dana; honestly…that's what friends are…" When Chase looked back at Dana he was surprised to see hints of anger on hurt on her face as she bit her lower lip. He realized she was just trying to thank him, and he was being a jerk and refusing to accept. "Okay, you owe me one…" Chase started; relieved when he saw Dana's facial expressions soften when he quit throwing her thanks back in her face. "How about this…"

Dana sat up a little straighter in her seat, scooting a few inches closer to Chase. "I'm listening."

Chase rubbed his uninjured hand over the artwork Dana had placed on his cast for a few seconds before looking back at Dana. "I…got a question for you…" Dana nodded her head as Chase continued. "Will you answer it without…yelling or hitting me?"

Dana saw the playfulness on Chase's face and how the corners of his mouth hinted at a smirk. Her mind instantly thought of about twenty questions he would ask that she would yell at or hit someone that asked her. Dana batted her eyes at Chase briefly, hiding a smirk as she nodded her head. "Go ahead…ask your question."

Chase immediately picked up on Dana's tone and defended himself. "No…no…not that kind of question…" Dana gave Chase a questioning look. "I'm just saying it's before like 2…so I know you might be cranky and-"

Dana let out a small scoff followed by laughter and she gently punched him in his closest arm. "You jerk!" Chase placed his casted hand over his recently assaulted upper arm, playfully narrowing his eyes as he let out a short moan. "Owww…that really hurt…!" Dana let out a short laugh as she leaned back and put one leg over the other as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Ask your question baby."

Chase leaned back in his seat, turning his body and placing one arm over the back of the bench as he faced Dana. "I'm going to take that as a pet name…like honey bun or sweetheart…and not you questioning my manliness…" Dana let out another laugh and Chase joined in.

Dana turned her body to face Chase, scooting in towards him until their legs were touching and Chase's hand that wrapped around the back of the bench was one small slip from being around her shoulders. Referring to Chase's question, Dana stated, "Go ahead…"

"Something's…different about you…" Chase broke eye contact momentarily as it seemed like they had been staring at each other for an abnormally long amount of time. Looking back up, Chase noticed something. "I can't quite place it…but…are you wearing make up?" Dana broke eye contact, looking back at Chase with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Ummm…yeah, why…?"

"Why?"

Chase didn't notice as Dana squirmed in her seat and her stumbling over her words was mild enough to not get picked up by the young male.

"Because…ummm," Dana placed a finger on her upper cheek, "You know, last night…crying for hours…"

Chase nodded as he remembered cover up really was used to…cover up things.

"And I wear make-up…" Dana added in her own defense.

Chase raised his eyebrows at Dana's statement. "Very rarely…"

"Yeah but…" Dana quit talking as Chase placed his hand gently on the corner of her cheekbone, lifting her face up a little as he inspected her face. Dropping his hand back down to his side, Chase shrugged, "I wouldn't have wasted the time."

It was amazing to Chase how quickly Dana's jaw dropped and she let out a giant gasp. Chase was even faster to start explaining himself before he got punched again, for real, in the face.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

Dana rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at Chase with anger in her eyes. "Yeah, sure…!"

"Honestly Dana!" Chase spoke with haste as he felt like he was quickly approaching that place where Dana might break his other arm.

"Okay, sure!"

"I just…I…its stupid…" Chase stuttered as he looked everywhere but at Dana.

"Then you did mean it like that." Dana replied quietly, obviously hurt as she started to stand up. Gently placing his hand on the back of her upper arm, Chase begged her to sit down with her eyes. Dana obliged and remained sitting and staring at him with her arms crossed.

"No, Dana…I didn't…"

"Then tell me…"

"You…You're beautiful without the make-up…you don't need it is all I meant." Chase refused to look at Dana as he hid his rosy cheeks. "It's like…adding something to the Mona Lisa…you don't have to…like because…"

"Because…?"

Finding the courage to look at Dana, Chase found no solace in the fact that he was not able to easily analyze her current facial expressions or body language to understand what emotions she was feeling.

"It's…already perfect…"

"Really…that's ummm…all that you…" Slowly leaning in, Dana gave up on mental processes as she fell silent and felt her eyes start to flutter shut. Nervously, Chase willingly leaned in towards her as well, closing his eyes when their faces were a few inches apart.

"Ummm…I got to admit…"

Chase opened his eyes to look at Dana when she spoke. Her eyes opened a few seconds after his and she maintained the fractional distance between them as she tried to find the words she was looking for in her brain.

"I thought that you're question was going to…I thought that you were going to want an explanation about last night…" Dana allowed her eyes to drift momentarily and land on Chase's lips. After a few seconds, she returned to looking deeply in Chase's eyes. "You…deserve an explanation for last night."

Chase shook his head with a sincere smile on his face as he moved his body a few inches away from Dana's to a more comfortable distance.

"No…like I said that's what friends are for…I wasn't there for you because I wanted something. I was there because I care about you…and I wanted to be."

Chase nodded at Dana as she swallowed back hard, fighting against the slight burning sensation at the corner of her eyes.

"When you decide you want to give an explanation…or you need to talk about last night…or anything…I'll be here."

Dana nodded, maintaining the small distance between their faces as she tried to come up with some way to thank Chase. Chase maintained the distance as well, growing nervous as they stared at each other quietly. In the blink of an eye, Dana's hand was cupped under Chase's jaw as she crashed her lips onto his. Almost immediately, the roughness of her sudden motion subsided, the embrace becoming much gentler than it had ever been previously as Chase placed his hand gently under Dana's curls and rested it on the side of her face. Neither of the two teenagers pulled away when the kiss was finished, opting instead to position their lips slightly differently and push into one another slightly to reinitiate the act. Again and again they restarted, even though they had never finished, and when they finally pulled apart after about fifteen seconds Dana's hand remained on Chase's neck as they both slowly opened their eyes.

Self consciously, Dana lowered her head for a brief second as Chase stared at her before looking back into his eyes. "Thank you…" Chase was about to reply but in the brief silence they both heard whispering a few feet away from them.

"Adorable…"

Dana and Chase's eyes fell on a small group of four, consisting of three girls and one male, which were a year younger than they were. The entire group fell silent as they saw the look on Dana's face and heard the way her voice hissed out from between her lips.

"Uhhh, hi?!"

The females didn't even try to apologize as they literally ran away and the boy followed directly behind. Chase and Dana may have been "adorable" to group but they still knew Dana by herself was far from it. Dana looked at Chase, the death stare falling off her face for a soft smirk that eventually became a smile. Chase let out a small laugh as Dana tried to play off the last few seconds like nothing had ever happened.

"Don't take this the wrong way Dana, " Chase stated with hesitation in his voice, "But if I haven't already told you…you can be scary mad…very scary."

Dana nodded with the smile still on her face.

"Well, come on…boyfriend…" Chase couldn't help but pick up the overemphasis Dana put on the word boyfriend as the brunette continued. "We got a busy day ahead of us." After quickly looking around, Dana stuck her hand out towards Chase. After a few seconds Chase caught on and intertwined fingers with Dana as they stood up from the bench simultaneously. He couldn't stand the normal way of holding hands…it felt uncomfortable, juvenile, and impersonal.

"We should go try to find the group…that is the next part of your plan right? Got to start making them jealous somehow…"

Chase looked over to Dana and was surprised to see her staring intently at him as they walked at a slow pace. Realizing she was waiting for a response Chase nodded his head.

"Ummm…yeah…"

Dana nodded at Chase's confirmation and placed her vision on where their feet were taking them. As they grew silent, Chase could still feel his elevated heart rate pumping blood through his body. For a brief second, Chase had entirely forgotten about the plan when he was with Dana that particular morning. To be honest, most of the time they had spent together felt real and not scripted, especially the kiss. In fact, he forgot about the whole plan until he was pulled back into reality by the small group of eavesdroppers into Dana and his personal moment. Shooting Dana a few small glances that she didn't notice, Chase wondered if she had forgotten as well the previous night, that morning, and during their kiss.


	8. Revenge Is Best Served

She Should Have Dropped the Necklace

Chapter 8

Revenge Is Best Served

"Any last second advice…?" Chase asked quietly as they walked up on their unaware group of friends, lounging and taking up the entirety of the wraparound couch in the girl's dorm as it seemed it was going to be one of those lazy Saturday mornings. "Be yourself…like we were saying…you're adorable normally. Don't try to act like a badass…like I'm actually having a negative effect on you." Chase shot Dana a small smirk but she was too busy staring at the group to notice.

"It won't impress Zoey or make her jealous…it will just piss her off."

Chase nodded, "Okay…show time." Dana nodded quickly, stopping as Chase made their group of friends aware of their presence, doing a good job of keeping his voice and body language from showing the nervousness he was suddenly feeling.

"Hey guys."

While the tension in the room immediately got amplified everyone greeted them, even Zoey and Logan on the furthest end of the huge couch managed a mumbled hello to their friends. Almost in unison, Chase and Dana tightened their grip on the other's hand for support as their fingers had remained clasping one another for most of the last half hour as the awkward silence began to set in. Trying to save the entire group from going to an uncomfortable place, Michael quickly thought of something to say.

"You got my text man?"

Chase nodded after a second. "Yeah, I was wondering what you guys were doing."

"You left early…"

"Really early," Lola finished Michael's statement with her eyes on Dana the entire time. The brunette was up, dressed, and out the door before Zoey or herself was out of bed. She couldn't easily remember the last time that had happened, and wondered if it ever occurred prior to that morning. Dana nodded, dropping her head a few inches as she felt a blush trying to fight its way on to her face.

Hoping that the situation would be a little less uncomfortable when they were sitting as well, Chase took initiative and gently led Dana by the hand around the corner of the couch, opting for the side Lola and Michael were on instead of Logan and Zoey. As they made their way to the center of the couch, Lola launched another question at them.

"Where have you guys been?"

As Dana turned around and sat down in unison with Chase, she answered quickly, trying to come off as nonchalant as possible. "Around…" Dana's didn't have the urge to explain further as once again she was uncomfortable and was uncharacteristically hoping that Chase would be the big, strong man and take charge. They had let go of one another's hand as they sat down and for a brief second were both sitting with their hands in their laps, regardless that their hips were almost touching. A brief glimpse from Dana that held hints of nervousness and almost terror gave Chase an indication she had no idea what to do next. Coming to the rescue, Chase almost immediately wrapped his right hand around the back of the couch and Dana's shoulders, softly resting his hand on Dana's right upper arm. Next, Chase took his left hand and placed it over Dana's, once again intertwining fingers as he rested his hand softly on the top of hers.

Dana and Chase could both tell the group was now growing more uncomfortable than they were themselves by their rather affectionate actions toward each other, and they managed to breath slightly easier. Since all eight eyes were still focused solely on them, Dana turned her face to whisper into Chase's ear so she wouldn't be heard.

"Thank you."

Hoping no one noticed the slight shutter that went through his body from Dana's breath on his neck, Chase nodded without a word. Turning their attention back towards the group, Dana and Chase both found enjoyment in how Zoey and Logan shifted in their seat from their public display of affection.

"So ummm…you guys going to finally tell-"

"How'd you get together…?" Lola squeaked out, the volume of her voice above normal as she stared at the "couple". Michael gave Lola a slightly irritated glance after being cut off by her for the second time in a minute but quickly turned his attention back to Chase and Dana. The actual couple at the couch didn't say a word, but Zoey and Logan both sat up some in their seat, Logan's hand falling off the back of Zoey's shoulder as they were in a similar position to that of Dana and Chase.

"Do you umm…" Chase looked at Dana for a brief second before continuing the story they had come up with and rehearsed briefly on their way over. "Remember about a month ago when all you guys went to see a movie?" A small scoff could be heard from Logan as he confirmed his recollection.

"Yeah, Twilight…"

Chase nodded. "And I didn't go..."

Zoey finished Chase's statement for him. "Because you had homework, I remember…"

Chase nodded again as he let Dana do the talking. "And I just didn't feel like going and seeing some stupid preteen chick flick." Logan and Michael laughed quietly as everyone nodded. "Well, I was bored and felt like doing something…and since you guys were all at the movie I texted Chase."

The entire group gave questioning looks to Chase and Dana. In defense, Chase replied, "We actually studied chemistry for…like half an hour. Ummm…" Offering back up, Dana continued to add to their elaborate lie as she could feel Chase stumble ever so slightly.

"It didn't last long…don't really like studying." Everyone nodded as Dana's study habits were no secret. Thinking back on their previous year tutor sessions, Lola recalled how she became attracted to Chase for being sweet, funny, and caring. Curiously, Lola asked, "And then what happened?"

"Uhhh…" Again, Chase faltered slightly as he hadn't expected their friend's questioning to go so far into detail. Chase raised an eyebrow as Dana let out a small laugh and tightened her grip on his hand as she gave him a small smirk. Holding his breath, Chase hoped Dana didn't let the story get extremely farfetched in a hurry.

"Uhhh…you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

The entire group moved a bit closer or sat up in their seat. Lola said, "Tell us." The whole group nodded in agreement as they stared at Dana and Chase, their curiosity rising as they saw the blush on Chase's face and mistook it for embarrassment for what Dana was about to reveal instead of embarrassment for what Dana was about to make up on a whim.

"We got in an argument because Chase still wanted to study for his test," Dana stopped to roll her eyes for effect, "And I didn't want to." Everyone nodded or continued to listen closely. "I threw a book at him I was so mad." Playing his part the best he could, Chase nodded his head and rolled his eyes. Michael let out a chuckle as he leaned forward in his seat.

"He was so upset." Dana said, letting out a small laugh as she quit talking.

"Then what…?!" Zoey wanted to exclaim, but Lola did for her.

"Trying to be nice like he always is," Dana smiled at Chase as she reached up and pinched him on his cheek. Logan's disgust showed for a second at Dana's behavior towards Chase, but he quickly wiped away his scowl. Zoey fought back the urge to scoff and roll her eyes as she looked away from Dana and Chase for a few seconds. "He asked me what I wanted to do." Lola and Michael nodded.

"I said I didn't care…as long as it wasn't studying freaking chemistry." The look in Dana's eyes as she shot him a short look caused Chase's heart rate to climb. He knew that look, she had set herself up to drop the bomb and was about to have fun with the story. "He said you can either leave…or…"

The brief pause caused everyone except Dana to hold their breath in anticipation. "Then he patted his leg." Dana tapped her own leg with her free hand not entwined with Chase's for additional effect. Thinking of something brilliant on the spot as she briefly met eyes with Logan and then with Chase, a smirk crossed her face at just how deviant she was.

"And then he said or…you can come over her and make out with the champ." The entire group exclaimed, Chase doing his best to muffle his but it wasn't heard regardless. Regardless, Zoey and Logan were the loudest, Logan's scoff much louder than Zoey's as his mouth fell open in disbelief and his eyes bulged.

Trying not to look too pleased, Chase fought back the urge to smother Dana with kisses for her brilliance as he saw the disgust that showed clearly on Logan's face. Dana was equally pleased with the slight look of nausea on Zoey's face that she tried to fight against with a fake smile.

Intentionally trying to kick a little dirt in the wound Dana opened up; Chase looked at Logan and calmly stated, "I ummm…got to thank Logan for that one."

Logan didn't appreciate the thank you as he finally managed wipe his face clean of his less than happy demeanor. Lola and Michael laughed deeply as they shook their heads. "So then what…?" Logan asked, holding back his anger as best he could as he cut the laughter short. Dana shrugged, "Well, I went over and sat down on his lap…got close to him until he closed his eyes…"

Dana intentionally stared at Logan as she finished her statement. "Didn't step on his foot…and then rocked his world. **(A/N: in my mind, Logan and Zoey had a small break during the early parts of their relationship. This resulted in the PCA dance episode where Chase tries to go with Zoey, Dana and Logan get matched up, and the infamous make out/ foot stomping scene occurs as it did in the series. Shortly after the dance, Zoey was slightly more upset and less forgiving of Chase then she was in the series and got back together with Logan)**

Looking at her boyfriend, Zoey let her disappointment show when she saw the look of anger on Logan's head as he shook his head. He stopped, trying to save face, but Logan didn't react quickly enough as Zoey let out a small scoff and decided she would rather look at the nausea causing wreck of a couple in her opinion than her boyfriend at the moment as she snapped her head back towards Chase and Dana. Seeing Chase lean in to whisper in Dana's ear, unaware that it was him returning the thank you for her saving his rear end this time, and then gently kissing her on the lips before pulling away caused her to fight back the urge to scream or vomit as she snapped her head away and decided to look out the nearest window for a few seconds.

**SSHDTN**

After what seemed like forever, the questioning finally stopped as the group sat quietly and had been watching television for about ten or so minutes without a word. The tension was less, but still there, and everyone decided to ignore it, pretend it wasn't there, or stare at the television and hope it would go away. Dana and Chase played with each other's hand as Dana rested her upper body on Chase's chest. They were doing this solely for show and to further infuriate Logan and Zoey if they looked their way…or at least that's what they knew the other one thought regardless of why they were doing it themselves.

Leaning back on Chase, Dana tilted her head up to look at Chase, softly saying, "We did good…" as she attempted to pat Chase on the leg. Her words were too soft for anyone to make out, but were enough to grab Zoey's attention as she looked over at them. Her intentions were innocent, but a slight miscalculation of hand placement as she maintained eye contact with Chase caused Dana's hand to travel and land a few inches off target and extremely close to a more sensitive area of Chase's lower body as he shot up in his seat a few inches.

Embarrassed, Dana and Chase's eyes instinctively fell to Zoey as she stared at them. Dana ate up the ridiculous expression that fell onto Zoey's face, who didn't release the mishap was not intentional, and quickly snapped her head back to the television when she saw them looking at her. Dana waited patiently, and after a few seconds Zoey turned her head slowly back in their direction, once again quickly snapping it back when she released Dana was still staring at her.

Chase's eyes grew in size as Dana let out a low, seductive, "Hmmm…" and looked up with him. Knowing where her mind was going and trying to stop it in a hurry, Chase shook his head at Dana when no one was looking.

"No, Dana…" Chase said quietly but firmly, trying to stop Dana as she bit her lower lip and he could see the look in her eyes. "I think you've had enough fun for today." A huge smirk fell on Dana's face as she could feel Chase shift in his seat uneasy as she sat up in her seat slightly and removed her body weight from his chest.

"Revenge," Dana started, her voice still holding a seductive tone, "is best served cold…or…hot." Dana's last words lingered a few seconds as she leaned in and her hot breath could once again be felt by Chase on his neck.

"Dana…Dana…" Again, Chase whispering attempts at stopping Dana fell on deaf ears as she placed her hand on Chase's chest and slowly moved down his body."Just be quiet…" Dana's voice, while still sexy, was more firm than before. "I don't know…pretend it is Zoey and not me…" She stared at him for a second to get her point across. "Don't get too excited."

Chase opened his mouth wide to reply, but closed it as his brow furrowed and he pouted. About the same time Dana's hand reached its destination she leaned in and whispered orders into Chase's ear.

"Now listen…I can't see them…but I know they are all staring…or about to be…"

Around the time Dana had made her third up and down motion on the general area most sensitive on Chase's body and he was trying to focus his mind on things such as his mother, cold showers, and icebergs, the entire group's attention was back on them. Everyone's mouth fell open as Lola covered her mouth with a free hand and Michael mouthed his favorite three letter acronym in its entirety. Extremely embarrassed, Chase lowered his face until he was touching cheeks with Dana, looking down at her and playing it off as if he wasn't aware everyone was staring at them.

"After they are all staring…we are going to get up…you are going to attempt to play it off…but badly…and make it very aware to them that we are going back to your dorm…and then we are going to leave…and I'm going to wash my hands…immediately…understand?"

Chase nodded quickly; swallowing back hard as he was doing a poor job of staying calm and collected in a variety of manners. Chase reattached his hand to Dana's, breathing a silent sigh of relief as he finally removed it from his body and they both stood up. Being a rather bad liar, Chase found it easy to intentionally try to play something off and not give away his motives but fail. All he had to do was act natural.

"Hey umm, we are going to catch up with you guys later."

Chase waited a few seconds for a reply but all he received was stares of disbelief as his friends looked up at him and Dana from their seats.

"You guys are going to be here for a while…Michael…Logan…?"

Still staring in shock, Michael slowly nodded his head.

"Like…here…not…going back to our room or anything…?"

Acting her part, Dana let out an audible scoff mixed with a sigh as she shook her head. If it was possible, Zoey, Logan, Michael, and Lola's jaws all dropped more and their eyes all bulged out of their skulls further as they fell right into Chase and Dana's act.

"Ummm…I…no…" Michael said, pausing a few seconds between each syllable he managed to pronounce.

"Okay, well ummm…we'll catch up with you guys a bit later."

Everyone nodded their head slowly, staring at Chase and Dana as they walked away quickly and with purpose without another word. After they left, everyone faced forward in their seats as a few moments of silence passed. Finally, Michael raised a hand with one finger up as he opened his mouth.

"Did they just…"

Michael let his hand fall to his lap as he looked over to Lola with his mouth still wide open.

"Was she…with her hand…?"

Lola nodded.

"On his ummm…"

Lola nodded.

"And their…going…" Michael pointed in the general direction of his dorm room with his hand before letting it fall back into his lap.

Again, Lola nodded.

"And right now…they're about to…" Lola didn't have to reply as Michael nodded his own head. Growing silent, Michael let his lower jaw hang open as he stared at the ground in front of him. Waiting, Lola realized Michael was done talking after about ten seconds of silence and looked over at Zoey and Chase. They didn't have to say anything, their body language said enough as Zoey leaned back against the couch with her arms crossed over her chest and Logan leaned up, resting an elbow on his knee as he stared off to nothing in particular.


End file.
